YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Do you have some demographic and
psychographic information on kids who skateboard?
Ann Rogers
WVEU-TV
New Orleans, La.

Dear Ann:

There's so much to tell you about skateboarders, I'm not quite
sure where to begin. Let's start with the basics: According to
market research firm American Sports Data, Inc. (ASD), there are
12.5 million skateboarders today, up an astounding 60 percent from
1999, when there were a mere 7.8 million of them on the nation's
sidewalks and streets. It's no surprise that skateboarders are
predominantly young and predominantly male. According to ASD, 85
percent of those who have used a skateboard in the past year are
under age 18, of those, 74 percent are boys.

For the sake of simplicity, we'll conduct our psychographic
analysis on skateboarders who are 12- to 17-years-old and use data
from Simmons Market Research Bureau's latest in-depth survey of
3,237 teens conducted from April 2000 to May 2001. Because there
are often distinct psychological differences between casual
skateboarders and die-hard board-heads, we will also differentiate
between the 15 percent of teens who said they skateboard once in a
while or sometimes and the 8 percent who said they skate every
chance they get.

At first glance, skateboarders seem to fall in line with what is
deemed stereotypical of the skateboarding culture. According to
Simmons, avid skateboarders (those who say they skate every chance
they get) are significantly less likely than their peers to agree
with the statement â€œI get along with my parents.â€? While
74 percent of non-skating kids ages 12 to 17 and 70 percent of
casual skaters of the same age say they get along with their
parents, only 62 percent of avid teen skateboarders say the same.
Perhaps that's because many skaters (69 percent of avid skaters and
56 percent of occasional board riders) say their ideas are
â€œvery differentâ€? from those of their parents; 45
percent of non-skateboarding teens feel their ideas are similarly
divergent.

But individualistic thinking doesn't necessarily translate into
a slacker attitude so commonly assumed to be held by skateboarding
teens. According to Simmons, teens who skate are just as likely as
those who don't to say â€œit's important to work hard at
schoolâ€? and that they â€œenjoy going to school.â€?
They're also generally on par with other teens when it comes to
seeking higher education: 86 percent of casual skaters and 83
percent of avid board-heads say they would like to go to college,
compared with 86 percent of non-skaters who say the same.

Whatever you do, don't call skaters conformists. The survey
suggests that many of today's trendsetters and early adopters may
have been board-heads in their youth. Simmons reports that avid
skaters are 32 percent more likely than the average teen to say
they are always the first to try new things and 58 percent more
likely to consider themselves experts in new technology.

Indeed, skaters â€” casual and avid alike â€” are more
likely than other teens to own a MiniDisc player, a Digital Compact
Cassette player, a digital audio tape player and a pager or beeper.
Furthermore, 52 percent of avid skaters say they are very stylish
and 31 percent say they like to stand out in a crowd, compared with
45 percent and 24 percent, respectively, of all teens.

And just where do skaters turn for the latest standout fashions?
Specialty stores â€” not the mall â€” are the hippest
places to find skater garb. According to Board-Trac, a Trabuco
Canyon, Calif.-based research firm specializing in marketing to
young people who participate in board sports, 59 percent of skaters
say they go to specialty stores when shopping for clothing, shoes
and accessories, compared with 5 percent of all teens. Still,
business at such stores must be good. Board-Trac reports that the
typical teenage male avid skater spends about $95 a month on
clothes, and the teen female avid skater spends even more: $109.
Even on the halfpipe, women outspend the fellas.

AND THE WINNER ISâ€¦

To the Editors ofAmerican Demographics:

Can you help me find a list of the top
televised events in the United States every year â€” events
such as the Superbowl, Oscars, Grammys, etc.?
Jenny Ferguson
Overland Park, Kan.

Dear Jenny:

If you looked at only the top five broadcast television events
of last year, you would find that four of them were sporting
events, be it the Super Bowl or a World Series game or a playoff
match. Only the Academy Awards would earn a spot in the exclusive
top five. So, to paint a more interesting picture of the top
televised events, we decided to show you the leading events in each
of five categories (see chart above): beauty pageants; music
awards; awards for television, stage and screen; ethnic awards and,
of course, sporting events.

***The telecast of Latin Grammy Awards
was cancelled in 2001 following the Sept. 11 attacks. Ratings and
share shown are for 2000, the first year the Latin Grammys were
televised.

SPORTING EVENTS

RATING*

SHARE*

Super Bowl XXXV (NY Giants vs. Baltimore)

40.4

61

World Series Game 7 (NY Yankees vs. Arizona)

23.5

34

AFC Championship (Baltimore vs. Oakland)

22.6

42

NFC Championship (Minnesota vs. NY Giants)

20.6

44

AFC Divisional Playoff (Baltimore vs. Tennessee)

19.0

42

NFC Playoff (Philadelphia vs. NY Giants)

18.6

34

Orange Bowl (Oklahoma vs. Florida State)

17.8

28

*The rating is the percent of all TV households that tuned in to
a given program. The share is the percent of households, or persons
using TV at the time the program aired who watched the particular
program.